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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

By the way, where do you see him as 24 years old? I have read that his birthday is Jan. 1991. That would make him 22.

The kid has the makings to be special. However, I have to see him in position drills at OLB before I say he is a fit. He is a hell of an athlete but again, lack of football reps could expose his instincts when he stands up. If the Steelers have ANY plans of 4-3 in the future...Than absolutley yes! When you watch him...He is one of those kids coming out where you just see where he excels & that is on the LOS. He is disruptive and causing match-up problems run or pass. You put him outside shoulder of an OT when you stand him up...His impact may be less.

As far as his age, I heard he will be 24 in may. I think his birthday is 5/29/1989.

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Originally Posted by JUST-PLAIN-NASTY

The kid has the makings to be special. However, I have to see him in position drills at OLB before I say he is a fit. He is a hell of an athlete but again, lack of football reps could expose his instincts when he stands up. If the Steelers have ANY plans of 4-3 in the future...Than absolutley yes! When you watch him...He is one of those kids coming out where you just see where he excels & that is on the LOS. He is disruptive and causing match-up problems run or pass. You put him outside shoulder of an OT when you stand him up...His impact may be less.

As far as his age, I heard he will be 24 in may. I think his birthday is 5/29/1989.

He played some OLB this past year at BYU and looked pretty descent at it. In fact in this clip you will see him lined up standing up a few times. He was moved all over the front. Sometimes even at the NT spot. I am not saying this kid come in and tears it up from day one. But at the rate he is progressing I can see someone who could be a dominate player.

I want to emphasize something again. He is 272 lbs. He was often lined up against guys 30-50 lbs heavier than him. And often doubled teamed by two of those type of players. Then factor in his speed and quickness. He will make plays just on his physical attributes. Sprinkle in some more learning and he could be off the charts.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

He played some OLB this past year at BYU and looked pretty descent at it. In fact in this clip you will see him lined up standing up a few times. He was moved all over the front. Sometimes even at the NT spot. I am not saying this kid come in and tears it up from day one. But at the rate he is progressing I can see someone who could be a dominate player.

I want to emphasize something again. He is 272 lbs. He was often lined up against guys 30-50 lbs heavier than him. And often doubled teamed by two of those type of players. Then factor in his speed and quickness. He will make plays just on his physical attributes. Sprinkle in some more learning and he could be off the charts.

Not necessarily. Watch the ND-BYU video clip...he is double teamed a few times but most times he looks like Lamar Woodley slow dancing with a tackle.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

He played some OLB this past year at BYU and looked pretty descent at it. In fact in this clip you will see him lined up standing up a few times. He was moved all over the front. Sometimes even at the NT spot. I am not saying this kid come in and tears it up from day one. But at the rate he is progressing I can see someone who could be a dominate player.

I want to emphasize something again. He is 272 lbs. He was often lined up against guys 30-50 lbs heavier than him. And often doubled teamed by two of those type of players. Then factor in his speed and quickness. He will make plays just on his physical attributes. Sprinkle in some more learning and he could be off the charts.

I think he will be a very productive NFL player. Just not ready to project him to a 3-4 OLB just yet. I don't see much of him playing in space, covering RBs & TEs, and what he looks like in drops. Lots of questions. He could answer them all...Not saying he can't. If you are a 4-3 team...His tape gives you confidence in his abilities. At 4-3 DE..I think he will "come in and tears it up from day one". There is alot to be said for telling a guy to put his hand in the dirt & follow the ball. He gets in that situation...Impact day 1.

There is a reason why the Steelers seldom go OLB in round 1. One of the reasons many in here want them to jump to a 4-3. The right fit. Transition to 3-4 does take time and hard to project. Usually, they are those guys who get picked in the 2nd with the "tweener" tag. Swing away...You hope the "projection" is right. To me, there are only two OLBs @ #17 I am comfortable with based on fit...Jones & Moore. Neither will be there. As a GM, I would have to be 110% clear on Jones medical. Sitting here..I am not. SO for me...Moore is the only OLB @ #17. Like I said, he won't be there. Mingo, Jordan, Montgomery, Ansah, Okafor, may end up being 1st round talent 4-3 DEs, or 1st round "ceiling" 3-4 OLBs. Projecting them into 3-4 OLB in the NFL will be done over the combine & workouts. That is one thing that sucks about the Senior Bowl. I wish we could see them play 3-4. There could be 3-4 OLBs in that group..Not saying that either. Mingo may only fit at 3-4 OLB. Adding mass to play DE may hinder his production. His ceiling is very high there but does his funtional strength now warrant a pick that high for a 3-4 team? He may be 1-2 years down the road. He may be that one player who in 3 years you say he should have been picked in the Top 3. He could also be that pick where you say what were they thinking.

My gut tells me Harrison will be cut because he won't play for what the Steelers will want him to. Worilds is viewed as the starter for 2013. He will play the 2013 season to earn his new contract. They will draft an OLB is the first three rounds. The Steelers paid for a winner keeping a core together. When they are aged & you go 8-8...Time to cut the fat. Time to play the draft choices while you clear the books. The next shift is coming in.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

Oh and we are talking about a specimen who is 6 ft 6 272 lbs and can run a 10.91 100 meters. He's as strong, quick, fast, relentless, and and not even scratching the surface yet. I would not want to pass on that. Again, if he is coming off the edge standing up in a 3-4 he is going to be hard to contain.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

Not even close. Jackson was a 4-3 DE and not a very good one. Ansah can play all positions along the Defensive front. And the amazing thing about that is at 272 lbs he is giving up 30-50 lbs against these O-lineman he is going up against. That means this cat is extremely strong. Powerful hands. Combine that with his quickness and you are looking at a flat out freak. When you watch this clip look at how well he gets off these block of these bigger O-lineman.

And I go back to the idea of him coming off the edge as a 3-4 OLB where he isn't get doubled by a T/G or Center. Scary.

I agree. He reminds me of a Suggs type guy who could be moved around to attack from different angles if we could get LeBeau to break his template rush of the two OLB from the same direction all the time.

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Originally Posted by JUST-PLAIN-NASTY

I think he will be a very productive NFL player. Just not ready to project him to a 3-4 OLB just yet. I don't see much of him playing in space, covering RBs & TEs, and what he looks like in drops. Lots of questions. He could answer them all...Not saying he can't. If you are a 4-3 team...His tape gives you confidence in his abilities. At 4-3 DE..I think he will "come in and tears it up from day one". There is alot to be said for telling a guy to put his hand in the dirt & follow the ball. He gets in that situation...Impact day 1.

There is a reason why the Steelers seldom go OLB in round 1. One of the reasons many in here want them to jump to a 4-3. The right fit. Transition to 3-4 does take time and hard to project. Usually, they are those guys who get picked in the 2nd with the "tweener" tag. Swing away...You hope the "projection" is right. To me, there are only two OLBs @ #17 I am comfortable with based on fit...Jones & Moore. Neither will be there. As a GM, I would have to be 110% clear on Jones medical. Sitting here..I am not. SO for me...Moore is the only OLB @ #17. Like I said, he won't be there. Mingo, Jordan, Montgomery, Ansah, Okafor, may end up being 1st round talent 4-3 DEs, or 1st round "ceiling" 3-4 OLBs. Projecting them into 3-4 OLB in the NFL will be done over the combine & workouts. That is one thing that sucks about the Senior Bowl. I wish we could see them play 3-4. There could be 3-4 OLBs in that group..Not saying that either. Mingo may only fit at 3-4 OLB. Adding mass to play DE may hinder his production. His ceiling is very high there but does his funtional strength now warrant a pick that high for a 3-4 team? He may be 1-2 years down the road. He may be that one player who in 3 years you say he should have been picked in the Top 3. He could also be that pick where you say what were they thinking.

My gut tells me Harrison will be cut because he won't play for what the Steelers will want him to. Worilds is viewed as the starter for 2013. He will play the 2013 season to earn his new contract. They will draft an OLB is the first three rounds. The Steelers paid for a winner keeping a core together. When they are aged & you go 8-8...Time to cut the fat. Time to play the draft choices while you clear the books. The next shift is coming in.

You state exactly why the 4-3 works in the NFL with cap issues. You can replenish the talent quicker and get contributions sooner. That helps you evaluate whether you keep a player or let them move on sooner.

As far as another time consuming "conversion project" to OLB, Dion Jordan looks excellent in coverage.

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This from ESPN...

Ansah struggles[URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/photo/2013/0123/nfl_a_eze_cr_600.jpg"][/URL]You wanted to see more from BYU's[URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30245/ezekiel-ansah"]Ezekiel Ansah[/URL] (6-5¼, 274). He flashed his talent at times and he was able to set, redirect and disengage to affect the play and make a stop. You can see the talent, athleticism and speed, especially at his size, but you wanted to see more. You want to see the proper use of hands, the technique and instincts.That may take a while in that department. He's not there at this point.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My problem with this is how do you expect or want to see more in regards to proper use of hands, technique, and instincts when he has only played football for 3 years and only just became a starter this past year?

Think back to your 3rd year in football. How was your use of hands, technique, and instincts? And at what level were you?..Pop Warner? Try doing it at the Division 1 football.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

This from ESPN...

Ansah struggles[URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/photo/2013/0123/nfl_a_eze_cr_600.jpg"][/URL]You wanted to see more from BYU's[URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30245/ezekiel-ansah"]Ezekiel Ansah[/URL] (6-5¼, 274). He flashed his talent at times and he was able to set, redirect and disengage to affect the play and make a stop. You can see the talent, athleticism and speed, especially at his size, but you wanted to see more. You want to see the proper use of hands, the technique and instincts.That may take a while in that department. He's not there at this point.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My problem with this is how do you expect or want to see more in regards to proper use of hands, technique, and instincts when he has only played football for 3 years and only just became a starter this past year?

Think back to your 3rd year in football. How was your use of hands, technique, and instincts? And at what level were you?..Pop Warner? Try doing it at the Division 1 football.

What's amazing is to think what an NFL strength and conditioning program is going to do for him. When he runs in the high 4.5's to low 4.6 teams are going to go crazy over him. I see him being gone between pick 8 to 14. Imagine what Rex Ryan could do with him.

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At this point to me its like gazing at a bag of some of the most bad*ss clay you have ever seen. You gotta mold that clay to get an awesome work of art out of it. How has Keith Butler/ Lebeau been with molding the plethora of LB's we have taken over the years? That's the real question. Do we have the artist on staff to do the molding? Timmons has grown. Woodley has regressed. And we had to go out into free agency to get Foote back due to our inability to have anyone else ready to go.